Living Life Out Loud

I started this website to document my tiny house build. It was also just a dare to ‘have a blog for a year’. I figured the tiny house would help me accomplish that. It did and it has been a thrill to play a hand in the modern tiny house movement! Seriously, an absolute thrill! Then I had babies and this site became my outlet where I could share what I was working on but mostly, it let me connect digitally with other grown-ups in a chapter of life that is steamrolled by other (little) people’s body fluids. Now, my kids are 7 and 5 years old. They mostly handle all of their bodies features by themselves. I have been lucky enough to find time for real life adult relationships again. It leaves me here, wondering, why do I keep up this site again?

Has it served it’s purpose?

Given, it is a great platform for people to find my eCourses. The majority of the folks who find those have never visited this site though, interestingly enough. It is still useful to go back to figure out how I did particular things in the build. We are looking at a couple minor modifications to the tiny house to help it grow with us now that we are on our forever property. I was recently able to go back and clarify that it was in fact a simple task to move a door and add another. That stuff is great!

And, over the years, I have been offered countless ‘once in a lifetime chances’ that I have never acted on. Some that most people would think I am crazy for not jumping on. Why cultivate this digital space if I’m not going to act on the opportunities that come from it? They just didn’t feel like the right timing or the right thing to devote my energy to. I admit, I have missed some great big, life changing things; hosting TV shows, representing big companies, helping design software that could change how all homes are designed. Those would be amazing and challenging and impactful. They would have dramatically altered my life as well. I have zero regrets about not acting on any of them even though I don’t have much to show for it but a happy heart.

That. Is. Everything.

Missing big opportunities in order to enjoy little moments; with a happy heart. There is so much struggle that has lead me to this point I am at right now. If you picked up a recent issues of Tiny House Magazine or been a follower of this blog for a while, you know all the struggles that took me down the path to tiny. It wasn’t sunshine and rainbows. Being honest, even now, it’s not a fairyland. I think it’s about as close as you can get in reality though! Tiny living has been the struggle that makes everything else make sense. I’m not a millionaire, but I lead a life that doesn’t cost all that much to live well.

Through this wonderful journey I have learned to trust myself in spite of any nay-sayers. I have found ‘my people’ who go out of their way to uplift my ideas and ideals. We work to encourage one and other on our path. That is better than winning any lottery in my opinion.

So, why am I still here?

I haven’t exactly known. Sometimes when I sit down to write a post it just sounds like boasting so I catch myself and hesitate. Sometimes I think, oh, that’s too weird, I don’t want to write about that and scare people away from leading this simple and sometimes weird life. Often I find myself sitting at my computer wondering what I have to contribute to the world that is worth taking up other people’s valuable time. Nothing, really. Then, I recently read a post by a fellow human who has inspired me, he said:

“I believe that my best service to Earth and Humanity is to simply be the change that I wish to see in the world. To be an example that shows another way is possible. And equally importantly, to live this example out loud.”

Rob Greenfield

That resonated with me. Hard. It’s not boasting to feel so happy in your life that you want to share. Everyone has a little ‘weird’ in their day to day. Our life has quirks but I will let you be the judge of whats worth your time. Going forward, I will try to shake off my doubts and share my life anyway because I believe it is equally ordinary and extraordinary. It’s worth sharing if it can normalize a more sustainable path. It’s worth sharing, if only for my kids, when they are older and reflecting on their weird upbringing! Our day to day adventures are amazing in their depth (my kids have visited 52 out of 63 National Parks so far!) as well as in it’s humble roots (we essentially poop in a bucket…). There are gross parts (we just found out we have leeches in our pond!) and heart warming moments.

So, here’s an updated tour of our little abode

In the end, we’re just a couple people trying to do right by this planet and the kids who will shape the future. We are both highly educated in skills we rarely use anymore because we are trying to fill gaps in our foundation. Like growing food and working with nature. It’s an exhausting, never-ending, rewarding challenge and we learn something new every single day. What more could you ask for, really?

I haven’t done a tour of my place since I was pregnant with my 5 year old. There have been a lot of changes: We moved about 300 miles. We’re now off-grid in the country instead of grid-tied in an urban core. The kids still fit in their beds but we are going to be changing their set up to accommodate Hazel’s growing height a little later this summer. The house is pretty much the same. The dog is older and grayer.

Coming Up

I want to do some updates about the septic project we’ve been working on and the barn project we are desperately trying to finish before another year slips by. Right now we are getting a back patio space situated. I’m getting a lot better at growing things, food things even! Chickens and sheep will come soon (I hope).

Is there is any particular thing you would like to know about how we make life happen? Feel very encouraged to leave a comment and I promise to get back to you. Some things I don’t even think of anymore as hurdles and I really do want to be as transparent as possible about how to live and extravagantly simple life, because it’s very rewarding and I want to be an example of the changes I’d like to see in the world!

Here are some snapshots of our life